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Why Raptors could utilize ‘jumbo’ lineup for Game 2 vs. Celtics – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

September 1, 2020

TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors aren’t the happiest bunch right now.

A day after getting bopped by 18 points in Game 1 of their second-round series with the Boston Celtics, the Raptors were back at practice and not feeling all too pleased with their performance on Sunday.

“I mean the mood’s not good. We’re not happy and we’re a little pissed off and we should be,” said Raptors coach Nick Nurse on Monday afternoon. “We’re not proud of anything we did yesterday.”

Harsh, but fair words from the Raptors bench boss.

In Game 1, the Raptors only shot 36.9 per cent from the field and 25 per cent from three-point range as the Celtics defence came as suffocating as advertised in the lead-up to the series.

Still, as good as the Celtics’ defence is, it was still aided by an all-around dreadful performance by the Raptors, and they know it.

“We just didn’t play good. Sometimes it’s that simple,” said Raptors guard Fred VanVleet. “We didn’t really do anything good enough to win the game, and they did. They were the better team. We weren’t moving fast enough, weren’t playing hard enough, didn’t make enough shots, didn’t execute the game plan. Like, you name it, we didn’t do it.”

But is it really that simple?

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According to Nurse, while there are certainly adjustments that need to be made, the biggest one is likely just more energy.

“We didn’t bring it, man. We weren’t running hard,” said Nurse. “It was like we were playing uphill both directions. Right? We weren’t running hard back, we weren’t running hard forward. We weren’t cutting hard. There was a speed and energy problem that I think was — it was a physical problem, which I think was created by our mental state, which wasn’t right.”

Not being in the right mindset is understandable given the emotional nature of the week that was that preceded the Raptors’ second-round opener with the Celtics. But at the same time, Boston was dealing with it exactly the same, too, and it came out like a house on fire Sunday.

There are many valid concerns with the Raptors after Game 1, such as their inability to get out in transition and the poor job they did of defending the corner three – according to CleaningTheGlass.com, the Celtics were 10-of-15 on corner-three attempts alone.

Thankfully for the Raptors, however, bouncing back in the face of adversity is something they’ve gotten used to. This was a team that still managed to finish with the NBA’s second-best record despite being among the most injured teams in the league and went down 0-2 to the Milwaukee Bucks last year before recording four straight wins to reach the NBA Finals.

This group has proven before that it can fight its way out of a corner.

“I think that’s just when you draw on your experience a little bit. We’ve all been in these positions. We’ve been on the good side. We’ve been on the bad side. We understand the ups and downs that come with the playoffs,” said VanVleet. “A lot of our guys in the rotation have been battle-tested. You understand that there’s gonna be a game like that probably. You hope that it doesn’t come. But it did. Now it’s our job to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Added Nurse: “I’d much rather be holding hands and skipping rope after a win, but again, this is where we find ourselves…. I mean, listen, we’ve certainly been punched squarely in the nose and we’ve got to stand up and either start playing, playing better, or not, and that’s kind of where we are.”

Raptors’ jumbo lineup could be a key

Among the in-game adjustments Nurse attempted in Game 1 as he was searching for a way back into the game was to go with a bigger, so-called “jumbo” lineup that featured both Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka on the floor.

While seemingly not the best idea given the position-less nature of the way the Celtics play, going with the dual-centre look was actually pretty successful as the Raptors were only minus-4 in the nine minutes with the pair on the court together.

“I mean it was OK,” Nurse said of playing Ibaka and Gasol. “Obviously they had a nice run kind of when the game was, you know, everything was going wrong and the game was getting away from us early and we went to it and it kind of, it brought us back with a chance.”

It wasn’t exactly a huge sample size, but the success shown from going big like this could be something to look out for going forward.

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Post-up Pascal

Another interesting sight Sunday was the number of post-up looks Pascal Siakam was getting.

A clear focal point of Toronto’s offence in Game 1, if Siakam’s going to be matched up against Jaylen Brown as much as he was on Sunday, theoretically it makes sense to want Siakam to take advantage of his height advantage over Brown and operate inside and go hunting for high-percentage looks in the paint.

Siakam had been struggling with his shot in the Brooklyn series, after all, so trying to get him going from closer to the basket is logical.

Unfortunately, Siakam continued to struggle, going just 5-of-16 from the field for 13 points, including a 4-for-11 mark in the paint.

Those are all bad-looking numbers, obviously, especially because some of those misses were bunnies, but that’s also why the Raptors are going to go back to this post-heavy focus with Siakam in Game 2, because the all-star did manage to get inside where he can create problems for Boston, both as a scorer and as a guy willing to find his teammates.

“For the most part, they looked OK. You know,” said Nurse of Siakam’s post touches in Game 1. “And I think that we’re trying to get him going a little bit, so we were trying to get him some touches and that wasn’t a bad way to do it. I think we need to do a little bit more around it, a little bit. I think we need to cut a little bit more and have a little better spacing and relocation and things like that, possibly, if we go into him there.”

Though he wasn’t able to convert as much as he liked, there did appear to be some success found with tossing the ball to Siakam in the low block.

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Raptors reunited with their family

Monday was a big day for the Raptors in the bubble as it meant they could finally see their families who were allowed inside.

“Just excited, just excited. I miss my family. Family is huge for me. It’s been a while,” said VanVleet of the prospect of seeing his loved ones again. “I think the last time I saw them was Father’s Day. It’s been a while, but it will be good to see everybody. And right on time after getting our butts kicked yesterday. So that’ll kinda take my mind off of it for a little bit today, and then I’ll get prepared and get locked in for the game tomorrow.”

VanVleet had a rough Game 1 scoring just 11 points on 3-of-16 shooting including a 2-for-11 mark from three-point range.

It was well documented what happened the last time VanVleet got an addition to his family during the post-season last year, so who know what may happen with the Raptors guard now reunited with his family in Disney World.

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Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

2 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.

WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.

“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.

“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”

Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.

Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.

Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.

Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.

The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.

Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.

The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.

WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.

The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.

Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.

Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad

Forwards

Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);

Backs

Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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